“Our economy is like a coiled spring ”“ it could snap back and snap back quickly” within the next few months, Gov. Ned Lamont predicted Tuesday morning.
Speaking virtually at the Connecticut Business & Industry Association”™s annual “Business Day” event, the governor said that he hopes Connecticut”™s $10 billion share of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, the recently passed federal stimulus bill, will be properly dispensed where it is most needed.
“It would be a tragedy if that federal money was frivoled away,” he said.
Lamont said he was counting on the money to help the state get through its next two fiscal years, the first of which starts on July 1. That would help the state avoid tapping into its ”™s rainy day fund, which now is at over $3 billion, and to avoid broad-based tax increases.
“We don”™t need higher taxes,” he declared. “New York and some other places are pushing that very hard.”
The governor identified schools as his “No. 1 priority,” saying that even with hybrid models and other safety measures in place, there are still 155,000 students who have been reluctant to physically return to class.
He again floated the idea of starting the next school year in July ”“ not necessarily to study the three R”™s, he said, but as a means of socializing students to help “get them back into the game.” Lamont also repeated his calls for business owners to offer internships and workforce training for older students during the summer.
The governor also expressed hope that the $270 million that the American Rescue Plan will provide to the state”™s child care system will be sufficient to “make an enormous difference” to working parents.
The state will waive the fees parents pay for child care subsidies from April 1 to Sept. 30.
Lamont said the state”™s Covid numbers are now “stable, pretty good,” thanks in part to the continued rolling out of vaccinations and the general public”™s continued observation of protocols to prevent transmission of the disease.
As of last night, Connecticut’s daily positivity rate stood at 2.95%; it has been under 3% for a number of weeks.
Lamont announced March 15 that Connecticut is accelerating its vaccine rollout, with individuals aged 45 to 54 becoming eligible on March 19 and those aged 16 to 44 tentatively scheduled to become eligible on April 5.
Retailers and restaurants are also set to open at 100% capacity beginning March 19. “We think we can open, and open safely,” he said.
Lamont identified the Covid variants now making themselves apparent in New York as “the one worry I”™ve got.”
Nevertheless, paying for the state”™s transportation fund “is still a problem,” he acknowledged, expressing hope that a federal transportation bill will be forthcoming.
Connecticut also continues to suffer from “enormous unfunded liabilities,” Lamont said, via debt and what it owes to its state pension funds ”“ though he noted that the state paid $60 million into the state employees”™ retirement fund in October ”“ the first such payment ever.
In addition, the American Rescue Plan also provides additional funding for the state”™s health insurance exchange Access Health CT, which the governor said would reduce costs for individuals and small businesses. He said that one or two additional insurers are expected to join the exchange ”“ only Anthem Blue Cross and ConnectiCare have offered packages on AHCT for the past few years ”“ which will represent another 10% to 15% savings for small businesses.
Asked to predict what March 16, 2022, might look like, Lamont said he believed the state will “be in even better shape” than it is now, with fiscal stability further reinforced by a continued influx of new residents; the trend towards wanting to live in densely populated big cities that was popular before the pandemic is over, he said.
As for the situation now, “a pretty good spring and summer is my hope,” he said.
